Communication is an important aspect of modern life. People use client computing devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, to communicate with others every day. For example, a user can use his/her client computing device to call a parent, video chat with a friend, and send voice messages to a colleague. However, a user using a computing device to communicate with another might not always be in an ideal environment for clear communication, such as a quiet, secluded area. In fact, the user may frequently be in noisy environments. For example, the user may be at a bar, at a restaurant, at a party, or on a bus, where the background noise can interfere with or drown out the user's own voice during communication. Conventional noise cancellation attempts to cancel out such background noise, typically by applying noise cancellation on the overall, continuous sound retrieved by a microphone. However, conventional noise cancellation can be inadequate or insufficient because conventional approaches do not effectively take into account all of the factors surrounding human oral communication.